In a Mother's Eyes -
"I have learned over the years that my children are the best thing that I
will ever do! They make me proud. They don't even have to do anything at all
just to see them walk into the room makes my heart smile! There could never
be a prouder mother than I..."

Ryan was born May 19 1977 in North Platte Nebraska. He arrived at 2:11
am. I can not explain what happens when you see and hold your child for the
first time. My heart must have swollen ten times it's normal size every
time. His fingers were long and thin just like his toes and yes they were
all there! He was a miracle as all babies are!

Ryan grew very quickly and at baby check ups his head was still his
biggest feature. His head measured larger than 95% of the other kids his
age. I know now that it was to accommodate all the brains he had in there.
ha ha No really Ryan was very smart! He could see something and just
remember it. He soaked up any knowledge that he could get his brain around.
He never really flaunted his smarts. I think that early in Kindergarden he
learned a lesson that followed him forever. It was Grandparents day at
school and his teacher told me that he shared with the class, and visiting
grandparents that he had false teeth. His teacher said, " oh really, can you
take them out?" and he quickly answered, "not in front of all these people."
I remember Ryan that way. He wanted to have the attention but when he got it
he didn't know what to do with it. It some how scared him I think. I believe
that after that he tried to make sure he knew what he was talking about
before he opened his mouth.

He worked to learn a little about everything and
lot about the things that were of interest to him. One of the things that I
loved about Ryan was that when he tried something he liked, and he tried
alot of things, he never seemed to be afraid of anything. Anyway, when he
did something he liked he would come home and tell me, " You have to try
this mom it is the best thing in the whole wide world!" He told me this
about many things, snow skiing, pole vaulting, roller coasters, scuba
diving, doing CPR on someone, seeing the fat cells of a little girl who had
cut her leg open. The only one I tried so far is the roller coaster, and he
was sitting right beside me when I did. He was my guide for adventure and I
know that we would have gone snow skiing one day. That was one of his
favorite things! I remember when he went for the first time with your youth
group. He had worked for Faussie's to earn the money.

His love to make people laugh is one of the things i miss most. He was
always trying to be funny. He could pick up an accent and talk i such a way
to make you giggle. His impression of Silverster Stalone in that Brisk Iced
tea commercial always made me laugh. The stories of patients he had had were
almost always funny because of the way he spoke of "stupid people". I know
that most of the stories were to amuse us and ease his mind of the terrible
things he had seen. He told of one accident where some of the people in the
car had been thrown out. One ended up in a tree and he and his partner would
sing,"It's raining Men " when they told the story. How funny and yet how
twisted. That was my baby boy! He let you into his world just alittle and
when he did he made light of it so that you wouldn't see the real pain.

Ryan showed alot of compassion for people. I watched how he tried to
help Michelle once when she twisted her ankle and I thought to myself ....I
hope if I ever need medical help that they are as gentle as Ryan was. I have
heard nothing but good things about his care of patients. I would expect
nothing less from him tho.. I DO wish that I would have gone to see him more
but who knew that he wouldn't always be there? Not I!